The old joke
by Juliss the Severed Snake
Summary: Well, it's kinda "glance from the other side" at the extremely funny prank Black played on Snape in their school days. Pls R/R!
1. Werewolf

Old joke.html **The old joke******

_By Juliss the Severed Snake._   
__

Not much had been left to check. I was looking at Moon Chart in my hands in the narrow beams of light, streaming from the school windows, when a dark shadow fell on the parchment. 

"Hello, slimeball", drawled too familiar voice. 

"Hello, barking freak", answered I. 

"What are you doing here? Crawl back to your murky dungeon, or you'll see your disgusting features smeared over the wall" 

"Be quiet, Black, you're risking your own disgusting features. Last time we've met it was cactuses all over your face, if I remember right. This time it might be chicken eggs instead of your eyes-not that it changes much…" I pulled my wand out of my robes pocket, smiling as nastily as possible (and I can sport out a really nasty sort of smile). 

"Too cowardly for upright fight, aren't you?" growled Black, squinting at wand in my hand. 

"Check me", my smile went even nastier. I could read Black's face as a plain sheet of paper- he was eager to hit me but the recollection about cactuses sprouting from his cheeks forced him to cool down. 

"Anyway, you hadn't answered. What are you doing outdoors that late?" continued Black, edging nearer. His eyes glinted like embers in coming darkness. 

"Not of your business, Padfoot". 

"You sneaking git!" The growl in Black's voice was almost canine, but if he intended to scare me out of my wits with this cheap show he certainly had overestimated himself. 

"Sneaking around, one could learn loads of interesting stuff. For example, your friend, Moony"… 

"So that's why you're lurking here. Want to see him trans…" He checked himself, but too late. 

"I see. So I'm right. He's a werewolf. Now, that's really impressing, Headmaster letting a werewolf in. Did he tame him before? He should have trained him well, I suppose, bringing a stick, so on. Oh no, I'm mistaken-bringing a stick is your part, Padfoot"… 

He snapped and was about to lunge on me when the doors behind cracked and two figures slipped out. One was Madame Pomfrew, wrapped in thick woolen cloak, and the second unmistakably was Black's buddy Lupin. We both-Black and me-had frozen on the spot, hidden in deep shadow.   
Madam Pomfrew marched Lupin down the Quidditch pitch towards Whomping Willow, which branches kept swishing aggressively, crouching in howling wind. 

I couldn't figure out what they were doing under the tree, but a minute later Madam Pomfrew appeared at the path alone, heading back for the school entrance. 

"Guided her ward outside, just to let him eat somebody in Hogsmead, I guess?" hissed I when the doors closed. Then I turned to Black, to see a dim smile wandering on his face. 

"What? Ready to hunt down somebody too, Black?" 

"Not me. I've heard recently that somebody cried about how brave he is, or am I mistaken?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"Nothing could scare you, right? What about full-grown werewolf?" 

"No one in your filthy company could scare me, Black, werewolf or not" 

"Prove it" 

"And how should I?" 

"You can just follow him" 

"To be beaten to death by mad tree? Thank you very much, Black, it's your piece to play a brainless idiot" 

"You can just pick a tick and push a knob on tree's trunk. Come along, I'll show you. Or are you scared?" 

"Eat dirt, Black, I'm not!" 

And we started for a haggard swishing tree down the path…   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Silver stag

Untitled.html Disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR, blah-blah-blahÉ 

Author: Well. To be honest, I never planned the second chapter, it was supposed to be a short piece (I hate sequels because I   
usually get bored at the middle), but all you reviewers kept asking about the continuation. Ok, here it goes (kinda "if you   
started to pervert a real story, have enough patience to finish it"). 

P.S. "Hullo, Azzy?" How came you know my yahoo profile-are you from this Pokemon gang? Ok, just wondering.   
  
  
  


The Old Joke 

By Juliss the Severed Snake 

Chapter 2   


"Bye, Snape, see you at Heavens", chuckled Black, when Whomping Willow frost, letting me slip under the branches to the dark   
hole between its roots. 

"If Heavens are the place where you're gonna be I'd rather prefer Hell as my next abode" hissed I in response and crawled into   
the hole. 

Tree trunk champed hungrily behind my back and I found myself in complete darkness. Chilly, humid darkness with remote   
noise of dribbling water. Damn. It was so easy to play a hero facing Black outside, but the place was freezing enough to cool   
down even my rage. 

"Lumos", muttered I, and pale glow at the end of my wand illuminated dumpy walls of underground passage. 

"Well, let's put it straight", continued I gloomily. "You are going to fight full-grown werewolf with your bare hands. Sounds less   
than promising. He'll feast on you, my dear Severus. Of course he would be expulsed and may be even shot, but it's not a   
great consolation for ripped corpse. All right, then I can just seat here, waiting for dawn to comeÉOr werewolf. Shit" 

I searched fervently through my Dark Creatures knowledge. Silver or fire could kill werewolf. I looked at the rod, still clutched in   
my fist. 

"Ignificus!" The branch's end burst in red flames, coloring dark walls in color of dried blood. 

Then I fingered silver fastening of my cloak. It was made in form of twisted snake, but it could be transformed into something   
else. I picked it and placed on my palm, recollecting incantation. It must beÉ"Exacuo Spiculum". Little snake straightened, its   
head sharpened to become a point of dart, glinting in the light of my torch. I tucked it under my belt, raised the torch higher   
and started for a far end of tunnel, my heart beating like mad clock and wand ready to stop any attacker. 

After what seemed like whole-night travel I had heard a strange echo, rebounding from the walls of passage. It was a horrible   
cross between whining and growling, I could easily imagine the pack of cursed souls or especially bad-tempered ghosts crying   
like that in haunted house. 

Ghosts? Haunted house? Some thought dawned in my head, guess that immediately was replaced by certainty - Shrieking Shack! The passage was leading to Shrieking Shack, pitiful abandoned ruin at the outskirts of Hogsmead. It was supposed to be most haunted place in whole EnglandÉ I sniggered despite of my fear. Of course, Dumbledor wouldn't have permitted werewolf at large, frisking about at Forbidden Forest. It was really brilliant idea, scare foolish peasants with fairy-tales about complaining   
souls, so on. I smiled again but my smile faded immediately when especially fierce howl thundered in the dungeon. I stopped   
dead on my tracks, but too late- gray shadow slipped from the darkness at the far end of tunnel, snarling and approaching to   
me with horrifying speed. 

I raised my wand, pointing at advancing shape, and trying to persuade my heart to stay where it was. "Stupefy!" Werewolf   
dodged easily, with almost beautiful grace, and jumped. I stumbled and fell onto the floor, rolling over to escape beast's fangs.   
Hot smelly breath touched my hair, thing growled maniacally and charged again - only to be met by flaring branch. Disgusting   
stench of smoldered fur hit my nostrils. Beast yelped and jumped back, and I got a chance to use my silver dart. It swished in   
the air and pierced werewolf's side. Werewolf growled again, not taken aback and ready to kill. 

I was ready to kill, too, raising my wand and starting "Avada KeÉ" But at that moment silvery shape darted from behind,   
positioning himself between me and snarling predator. Stag. Little stag with glittering horns. 

"GoÉGo away!" cried I, still grasping my wand. "Let me kill it!"   
I don't know why I was sure that the thing would understand. Werewolf howled something, and I could bet that he had said   
almost the same. But stag remained still, moving his glance from me to the crunching animal. And thenÉthen werewolf   
retreated. It retreated slowly, reluctantly, leaving its prey, but it did it, and soon disappeared in the darkness. 

Then the stag turned to me, smilingÉOf course stag cannot smile. 

"Potter, you?É" gasped IÉ and waked up .   
  


********   


Chill, cloudy dawn of the end of October stole its way in the sky and now poured a pale, mirthless light over the streets and   
parks of giant city. October, 31. I still have time to warn them about Voldemort's plans, about the treason. I still have enough   
time to pay my debt. I still have timeÉ   
  
  
  
  
  
  


THE END   
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
